Posts tagged ‘Papua New Guinea’

More than a year after oil prices started to tank, it looks like the Australian and Papua New Guinea markets are poised for a period of serious merger and acquisition activity.

The latest round of maneuvering was kicked off in September by Woodside Petroleum, Australia’s biggest listed oil and gas producer, when it launched an A$11.6 billion ($8.4 billion) takeover bid for Papua New Guinea-based Oil Search. Woodside offered one of its own shares for every four held in Oil Search, which is also listed in Australia, in a proposal that the target and local analysts immediately dismissed as low-ball.

Over the last several months there has been much discussion about the impact of falling crude oil prices on the liquefied natural gas market. The conventional argument goes something like this: lower crude prices are making oil-linked LNG contracts cheaper and are putting pressure on the spot market as these contracts increasingly undercut spot prices.

At first glance, this argument appears quite compelling. On January 14, 2015, the price of Platts-assessed Dated Brent was $45.73/b. For buyers using 14.5% slope to crude, not uncommon in the Asia-Pacific market, that would equate to an LNG price of just $6.63/MMBtu. By comparison, the Platts JKM price (a spot index for the Asian LNG market) was assessed significantly higher at $9.38/MMBtu on the same day.

As Papua New Guinea enters the small fraternity of LNG exporters, it needs to figure out what do with the money the poor nation is going to earn. Christine Forster looks at the issue in this week’s Oilgram News column, Petrodollars.

It seems there might still be some twists and turns in the long saga of InterOil’s Papua New Guinea LNG project, with analysts speculating that arbitration proceedings launched by Oil Search are ultimately aimed at replacing joint venture partner Total with ExxonMobil.

Oil Search clearly sees itself as the key player in the Pacific nation’s emerging gas sector, by virtue of its 29% stake in the new ExxonMobil-led PNG LNG facility near Port Moresby and its significant equity position in the InterOil project. Oil Search, with its strong operating history at PNG oil and gas fields, also enjoys a good relationship with the PNG government, one of its major shareholders.

It seems that 2014 might be the year that InterOil’s long-touted LNG project in Papua New Guinea finally takes some significant steps toward realization.

Crucially, it looks like InterOil’s latest proposal for the development of its Elk and Antelope gas fields has the unqualified support of the PNG government, something the company has not always enjoyed in the past.

Of the three oil and gas majors understood to be vying for a share of US-listed junior InterOil’s Gulf LNG project in Papua New Guinea, Shell is being tipped by some industry insiders as the bidder most likely to succeed.

The PNG government approved InterOil’s plans to develop the 3.8 million mt/year Gulf LNG project in November last year but has required that the company bring in a partner with a track record operating similar projects. At the same time the government said state-owned resources company Petromin would take a 50% stake in the onshore Elk and Antelope gas fields that will feed the LNG project.